A 96-year-old Bakersfield man is hoping his story will serve as a cautionary tale for others after he was scammed out of $28,000.
The man, whom we will call Joe because he did not want to be identified, said he received a call in late September from someone pretending to be his grandson. The person said he was in jail and needed to be bailed out. The person then handed the phone off to someone else, who gave Joe instructions on how to send them money.
Joe then sent $20,000 in cash to an address in New York. Not long after, Joe received another call saying his grandson had gotten into a fight at the jail, and now needed another $8,000 for an assault charge.
"The whole thing is, I just feel so stupid," Joe said.
All told, Joe was scammed out of $28,000 in cash. The World War II veteran has lived alone since the death of his wife. When he got the call, he said he tried to call his grandson to confirm but couldn't get ahold of him. At the time, he said, he was only concerned with his grandson's well-being.
"I wasn't worried about the money...I know it's a lot of money, but if I get my grandson out that's the main thing," he said.
Bakersfield Police investigated and have turned the case over to a police department in New York, since that where the money was sent. At this time, no arrests have been made.
BPD says they see scam cases targeting elders frequently because they're oftentimes more likely to fall for it.
"It makes the grandparent feel like they're helping in a secret kind of way," said BPD Community Relations Specialist Alysen Gelinas. "And they want to have that connection with their grandchildren so they're easily manipulated into doing that."
The Community Relations Department at BPD holds seminars for elders on scams like this one, trying to warn them and teach them what to watch out for.
If you're interested in a seminar, call Alysen Gelinas at BPD at 661-326-3922.
